Ashes and Blood
1032 Words
How is that creature my mate?
The question buzzes like hornets in my skull as I stumble through the rain-soaked woods, skin still tingling from where his fangs broke through. My mind replays the moment again and again—his voice, thick with desire and cruelty, calling me “his.” It wasn’t affection. It wasn’t love. It was possession. As if I were nothing but meat, something to feed on and cage.
I don’t know if I’m sobbing or screaming, or both. My voice is hoarse, my fists aching from where I’ve pummeled the wet earth. “Screw that guy who talked about mates!” I shout into the void. “If that’s a mate, then I want none of it!”
A gust of wind lashes my soaked clothes against my skin. The forest is quiet, too quiet. My breath fogs in the cool air. I should be freezing, but I barely feel the cold anymore—numbness has taken over, like something inside me cracked and is leaking into everything.
I need a guide. I need someone. Because something dark is coming, and I have no idea what the hell I am anymore.
A voice slices through the silence like lightning.
“Rose! Wake up!”
The world tilts. My knees buckle. I think I’m still lying on the ground, but everything is foggy—thick like smoke, like a dream. Maybe I’m dead. Maybe this is another hallucination.
“Rose, I need you to get up! It’s me—Alex, love!”
Alex?
The name barely registers until heat blooms across my skin. My eyes crack open. Above me stands a being cloaked in light—no, fire. Wings shimmer behind him, glowing embers falling from them like dying stars. His skin glows faintly, the color of sun-baked gold, and his eyes… they swirl like magma. Red and orange, shifting like a storm. His hair is tousled and damp from the rain, but it doesn’t sizzle against the heat of his body.
"What are you?" I rasp, trying to sit up, dizzy from blood loss and disbelief.
His hand cups my cheek, searingly warm but gentle. “You’re not going crazy,” he murmurs. “It’s me, Alex. I’m… a Phoenix.”
I blink up at him. “Oh. Okay.” A laugh escapes me—bitter, stunned. “Sure. That tracks. Vampire attacks me. Firebird saves me. Just another Wednesday, right?”
His mouth quirks into a soft smile, but concern shadows his features. “Hold still.”
His hands move to my neck, and a pulse of radiant heat rushes through me. It’s not fire, not exactly. It’s life. The agony in my veins vanishes as my torn flesh knits back together. Bruises fade. My heartbeat steadies. I exhale shakily, suddenly aware that I’m not dying anymore.
“Alex…” I whisper. “Thank you.”
He brushes a lock of hair from my face. “You don’t need to thank me, Rose. I’ll always come for you.”
I swallow hard, emotion rising in my throat. “Where is he? The vampire.”
Alex’s eyes darken like coals flaring in a forge. “I burned him. His face is charred, and his gut is ripped open. But he’s not dead. Not even close.”
I nod, trembling. “Great. So he’ll be back.”
We sit in silence for a moment, the rain softening to a whisper against the leaves. Then I ask the question that’s been gnawing at my sanity since the vampire’s words first hit me.
“Alex… what’s a mate?”
He draws in a deep breath, as if the word weighs more than he wants to admit. “Mates are… soul-bonded. Fated. Chosen by something older than time. We don’t get to pick them. It’s a connection that goes deeper than love—it’s destiny.”
My chest tightens. “But that vampire said I was his mate. And now you’re saying it too. Which is it?”
Alex hesitates. “He wasn’t lying. He’s one of them. But he sees you as a tool, not a partner.”
“Why? What does he want from me?”
Alex looks at me, really looks, like he’s seeing a puzzle he can’t solve.
“I think it has something to do with who you are. Who your parents are.”
That hits me like a punch to the gut.
“I don’t know my parents,” I snap, stepping back. “They left me. I don’t even know if they’re alive.”
He raises his hands, voice gentle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But if the vampire lord believes you’re his mate, and he wants power… Rose, you might be more than you think you are.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed. “I’m just a human girl who ran away from home. I was bleeding in the mud an hour ago! You really think I’m someone special?”
“I know you are.”
The way he says it is so certain that I almost believe him.
The forest thins as we keep walking, the trees slowly giving way to something strange—a wrought iron fence wrapped in ivy, and beyond it, a massive stone manor. Dark towers rise from its spine, and every window glows faintly like candlelight trapped behind stained glass. The air hums with ancient magic, old and deep.
“You live here?” I ask, awestruck.
He chuckles. “Phoenix perks. My family built it long ago, hidden from humans.”
“I’ve lived in this town for years. How have I never seen it?”
“Because it didn’t want to be seen… until now.”
A shiver runs down my spine. The rain finally stops. As we approach the front steps, Alex turns to me.
“I’ll get you warm. I’ll get you tea. And I’ll tell you everything. But you have to trust me, Rose.”
I nod slowly. “I don’t know if I can trust anyone… but I’m tired of running.”
He smiles and opens the door, golden light spilling out.
And I follow him inside.
- Writer
